Fall Leaf Painting with Negative Space Art

Watercolors, acrylics, or crayons, whatever medium you choose, this simple fall leaf painting activity is perfect for exploring negative space art. You can even use real leaves! Get creative with art this fall or autumn by exploring the negative space outside of the image. It’s a neat way to create art and you don’t need any special supplies to get started!

PAINTING WITH LEAVES

Fall leaves are a work of art in themselves! The gorgeous fall colors that dot the mountains and forests around here are a favorite for fall arts and crafts. I wonder just how many famous artists have used the colors of beautiful autumn leaves for inspiration.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Fall STEM Activities

I’m excited to share more arts and crafts projects this season that all pair with an interesting style of art, and in this case, it’s negative space art. Although there’s a finished project to enjoy and display, this fall leaf painting is still all about creativity and uniqueness.

This fall art is easy to make with younger kiddos as well as enjoyed by older kiddos! Of course, you don’t have to just stick to fall colors to enjoy this exciting technique.

WHAT IS NEGATIVE SPACE ART?

Negative space in art is the space around and between the subject. In a typical image, the subject is normally shown in color and the space around them is left blank (white), thereby forming a silhouette of the subject.

In negative space art, we reverse the tones so that the space around the subject is colored and the subject itself is left blank. This is called figure-ground reversal. The artist M.C. Escher is a great example of an artist who used negative space in many of his artworks.

FALL LEAF PAINTING

Grab our fall leaf art template pack to get started!

YOU WILL NEED:

• Printable Leaf template (or try real autumn leaves too!)
• Paint (or see other medium choices above)
• Brushes
• Black glue, paint, or a marker
• Canvas or cardstock or any heavyweight paper

What else can you use for your negative space art?

It’s up to you!

• Watercolors!
• Oil pastels!
• Crayons!
• and _________?

HOW TO PAINT FALL LEAVES

STEP 1: Download and print out the autumn leaf template.

STEP 2: Cut out the leaves and place them on the canvas or cardstock.

STEP 3: Hold the leaf down on the canvas as you paint around the outline, pulling outward along the edges. Repeat this process around all of the leaves.

STEP 4: Paint the entire canvas (or paper) around the leaves. Squeeze the paint directly onto the canvas (or paper) and blend.

STEP 5: Outline the leaves when the painting is dry. Use black paint, black marker or even black glue.

MORE FUN ART PROJECTS FOR KIDS

• Crayon Resist Art
• Kandinsky Circle Art
• Tape Resist Snowflakes
• Starry Night Art For Kids
• Found Object Art with Nature Weaving